A princess has put a sprawling medieval estate overlooking Lake Garda up for sale for €36 million, and unlike most luxury listings, this one actually earns the number.
The 72-acre property, known as Villa Sant’Andrea, sits above the town of Affi, just outside Verona, and comes with a charming castle, a consecrated 12th-century church, vineyards, olive groves, several guest buildings, and even a place to land a helicopter without upsetting anyone.
The owner is Princess Astrid von Liechtenstein, who spent years and a frankly heroic amount of money restoring this estate together with her husband, Prince Alexander. And it wasn’t just a cosmetic spruce-up. The restoration process followed earlier work by Renzo Mongiardino and it was a long, methodical effort to make a deeply old place work properly in the modern world without turning it into a theme park.
Proudly sitting above Bardolino on Lake Garda, Villa Sant’Andrea is widely regarded as one of the most valuable private estates in the entire country.
The main villa alone spreads over 20,000 square feet and inside, it’s proper Italian country-house stuff. Reception rooms that make sense. A billiard room, because someone sensible realised people like billiards. There’s also a modern kitchen and six en-suite bedrooms, each of them looking like proper five-star hotel rooms.
Outside, the villa has beautiful porticoes that run along the building, framing views of vineyards and olive groves that appear to roll away into the blissful Lake Garda scenery.
Then there’s the church. A real one. Consecrated. Built in the 12th century. If most people would probably settle for a home office or perhaps a garden shed as their ideal home feature, this estate gives you a medieval church, quietly sitting there as if this sort of thing happens all the time.
Higher up the hill is the castle, which is exactly where a castle should be. It looks down over the lake and contains four bedroom suites across four floors and connected by a broad circular stone staircase. There’s also a salon, a wine cellar, and a gym. That last bit is important. Castles without gyms feel unfinished these days.
Additional buildings include a detached structure on the hillside that’s divided into two independent apartments – useful for guests, staff, or anyone you like but don’t want under the same roof.
At the far edge of the property there’s also a former hunting lodge that has been restored and paired with an infinity pool where you’ll probably spend most afternoons. From here the view stretches out across the lake and the countryside as well.
The vineyards produce Merlot, Cabernet, Corvina, and Rondinella. Not as a lifestyle accessory, but properly. The olive groves produce enough oil for private use, which is the sort of detail that makes you quietly nod in approval. There’s even a helicopter landing pad which sounds excessive until you realise that getting to this estate probably already takes longer than most commutes.
Despite all the age and romance, the place isn’t trapped in the past. There’s fiber-optic internet and modern security systems throughout. You can even livestream from your future Italian castle without difficulty, which is comforting.
€36 million is a formidable number in any currency. Still, this isn’t just a large house with good views. It’s a stitched-together piece of Italian history that functions as a private estate, complete with working land, serious architecture, and modern infrastructure.
You’re not buying fantasy here. You’re buying a piece of Italian history, continuity, with Wi-Fi and a decent cellar.
